The union representing local janitors held an act of civil disobedience on Thursday. Before the demonstration, IndyStar spoke to organizers.
Indianapolis Star

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Jerome Perkins I (third from left) and City-County Councilor Zach Adamson (standing next to him) and others and others wait to be issued summonses during a protest in front of Eli Lilly and Co. headquarters, Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters.(Photo: Robert Scheer/IndyStar)Buy Photo

As some of them pulled on purple T-shirts and passed out signs, demonstrators with Service Employees International Union Local 1 placed their cellphones, wallets and keys in a cardboard box.

If you're arrested, organizers said, you won't need them.

"All you need on you is your ID."

And over the next two hours, nearly 50 of them — including two city-county councilors — were removed from the street by police after blocking traffic at McCarty and Delaware streets, near Eli Lilly's corporate headquarters. Each was issued a written summons for violating a city ordinance and not complying with police.

Organized by SEIU, the local union representing Downtown janitorial and security staffers, the demonstration was an effort to improve workers' contracts to include paid sick time, health care and pay raises. Many make less than $10 an hour.

SEIU organizers told IndyStar contract negotiations with SBM Management Services, the company that contracts the staffers to Downtown companies, have stalled. SEIU organizers say it comes down to SBM asking Lilly for funds to help cover the cost of raises and benefits.

Lilly representatives say that’s not the case, and that, as a contractor, the company cannot be involved with the negotiations. SBM did not respond to a message from IndyStar seeking comment.

Organizers say they're advocating for the more than 600 people caught in the middle of the negotiations.

People like Jerome Perkins II.

Perkins, a 36-year-old single father of two, works 80-hour weeks at two janitorial jobs to make ends meet. Among the group removed by police Thursday, Perkins told IndyStar before the demonstration that he felt compelled to speak up.

“This new turn, this new movement, this new fresh air of confidence," he said, "and making sure that we get the message across that we’re just as human as y’all are."

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Jerome Perkins II, with his son Myles, is a janitor whose first of two jobs, has him working at Eli Lilly during early morning hours into the afternoon, Indianapolis, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. On Thursday, SEIU Local 1 has a traffic blockage scheduled for in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which should result in arrests. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are scheduled to come in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. (Photo: Robert Scheer/IndyStar)

'The motivation is them'

Perkins' motivation for protesting — for seeking a better life – is his children.

Perkins' 2-year-old son Myles — he calls him Man-Man — was born six weeks early and spent time in neonatal intensive care. But it's hard to tell now. He's dad's little man.

Myles is Perkins' youngest, second to 6-year-old Makiylah, a first-grader who just made the honor roll.

"The motivation is them," Perkins said. "That’s what really kind of keeps me going, is just the fact that I know I want to provide better for them."

When he has money, his refrigerator and freezer are stocked. When he doesn't, he stretches a single takeout order over several days' meals. Sometimes, he'll get a late notice for bills. There are some weeks he'll have $10 in his pocket, anxiously awaiting that next paycheck.

He doesn't like asking for help. He's not receiving government assistance, doesn't like borrowing money from family. He does the best with what he has.

“You just live and learn from it," he said, looking out the window to his right. "So, when I reflect on that, I just — it’s hard sometimes, but I make it through."

He wants corporate executives to realize that just because they can't see it, doesn't mean that poverty doesn't exist.

"Y’all might be living good, but the next person right next to you might not be," he said. "You don’t know what they going through. And that’s the part I don’t think they understand.”

A living wage

Last year, the City-County Council approved a proposal increasing Indianapolis’ “living wage” — the minimum income necessary to meet basic needs — to $13 an hour. But that living wage applied only to city and county employees.

Many of the SBM staffers still make $9.75 an hour, SEIU organizers said.

Councilor Zach Adamson, one of the nearly 50 held by police Thursday, has been vocal in his support of the janitorial staff at Lilly, writing an open letter in which he criticized the company for not budging as some of its staff face “crushing poverty.”

Speaking to IndyStar before the protest, he referenced a Lilly fundraising campaign for United Way that led the company to put footprint decals in various places across the campus as a reminder of that poverty.

“Yet the people who have to sweep and mop over these footprints … are going to go home to that crushing poverty every day,” he said. “Which I think is just such a strange contrast.”

Councilor Jared Evans, District 22, said today's workers are making comparable wages to what his mother made as a janitor at Eli Lilly in the mid-1990s.

"Here we are in 2018, and these wages have barely moved, yet the profit from Eli Lilly has grown," he said. "It's not acceptable, one bit."

He said he expects Lilly to step up as leaders in the community and do the right thing for their workers.

"They have been dedicated to the city, the city has been dedicated to them, and at this point, we're asking them to go a step further and be dedicated to the citizens of our city," he said.

Lilly spokesman Scott MacGregor told IndyStar Wednesday evening the janitors are two steps removed from being Lilly employees — they’re employed by SBM, but Lilly contracts with another company to have them work at the facilities.

“We don’t have a contract with them, so we’re not involved in their negotiations, nor can we be involved in them," MacGregor said.

A piece of the pie

Perkins realizes the fight is bigger than him.

As he's become more vocal about the issues facing him and his family, he recognizes that he's a voice for the others who might otherwise feel they can't speak up.

“There are people that makes less than me, too, and, you know what I'm saying, that’s who I represent, as well," he said. "Just ‘cause I make the $12.75 doesn’t make me no different from the person that making $9.75. I feel their pain because that’s where I started out at, too."

Making $16 an hour would be ideal, he said, so he could have all the things he needs and some of the things he wants. He could build up his savings and maybe even take a vacation.

"I could actually sit back and be like 'oh, man, you know, life is great,'" he said.

Until then, they're going to continue fighting SBM and contractors such as Lilly for the respect — and quality of life — they feel they deserve.

"I'm here for a reason, and the reason’s making sure that everybody gets a fair share," he said. "(A) piece of that pie that, you know, you guys are trying to keep us away from."

'Show me what democracy looks like'

Before they took to the street, Clarence Jones, also a janitorial staffer at Lilly, talked about his experience struggling to make ends meet.

He, too, works two jobs. He couldn't afford both rent and a deposit for a new apartment. For a time, he bounced from couch to couch. A few times, he slept outside.

"We are fighters," he said, choking up. "This is real."

The protesters formed a V in the middle of the intersection, stretching from McCarty to Delaware, yelling over officers' loudspeaker warnings.

One by one, officers approached them, asking if they understood that they were in violation of a city ordinance and were not complying with the officers' requests to clear the street.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police said the final count was 48, including councilors Adamson and Duke Oliver.

The chanting slowly dissipated as they were walked away by police from the intersection and held in buses parked nearby, but that didn't quell their spirits.

As one man was led away from the group, protesters continued to chant: "Show me what democracy looks like."

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About 75 people are in support of a peaceful in front of Eli Lilly Headquarters, Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. Robert Scheer/IndyStar

Jerome Perkins II (middle left), and Zach Adamson, city county councilor (on Perkins' right), and others wait to be arrested during a protest in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. Robert Scheer/IndyStar

Jerome Perkins II is issued a summons with with other protesters Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. Robert Scheer/IndyStar

About 75 people are in support of a peaceful protest in front of Eli Lilly Headquarters, Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. Robert Scheer/IndyStar

About 75 people are in support of a peaceful protest in front of Eli Lilly Headquarters, Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. Robert Scheer/IndyStar

Zach Adamson smiles at an officer as he joined with other protesters supporting a janitor's union, Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. Robert Scheer/IndyStar

About 75 people are in support of a peaceful protest in front of Eli Lilly Headquarters, Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. Robert Scheer/IndyStar

A preliminary meeting of protesters who will be in front of Eli Lilly Headquarters Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. Robert Scheer/IndyStar

A few of the approximately 75 people in support of a peaceful protest in front of Eli Lilly Headquarters, Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. Robert Scheer/IndyStar

Doris Jones (right), leads chants with other protesters at Eli Lilly Headquarters, Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. Robert Scheer/IndyStar

IMPD officers are busy recording summons arrests as they take in about 50 protesters from the street in front of Eli Lilly Headquarters, Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in approximately 50 arrests. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. RobertScheer, Robert Scheer/IndyStar

Zach Adamson, city county counselor, stands with other protesters outside of Eli Lilly, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. RobertScheer, Robert Scheer/IndyStar

Jerome Perkins II, front left, sits with other protesters at Eli Lilly Headquarters, Indianapolis, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. SEIU Local 1 and supporters blocked traffic in front of Eli Lilly headquarters, which resulted in the issuance of approximately 50 summonses. Janitors, union organizers, and community members are in support of efforts by the union to get a new contract for its workers. RobertScheer, Robert Scheer/IndyStar